The Most Important Things To Know Before Purchasing a PDA

Published on April 18, 2009 by Matt John in Consumer Electronics

Missing important dates? It’s time to get organized – with a little help from technology. If you’re thinking of upgrading your paper-plump Filofax to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), look out for these features.

Handheld or palm?: Decide on whether you want a keyboard or a stylus. Palms are stylus or pen operated, whilst a handheld is larger and has a mini keyboard to it.
Screen:For image quality, check the screen resolution, which is measured by pixels per inch. The more pixels there are, the higher the resolution, the sharper the images. Generally, a palm with a 4-inch screen supports a resolution of 320 x 320. For handheld, a typical screen size of 6.5 inches supports 640 x 240 pixels.
Memory:This depends on your needs. If you need more than what’s usually offered, opt for expandable PDA that feature built-in expansion slots that allow additional plug-ins for an external memory card and USB ports.
Handling:With handheld, the keypads are tiny and may be annoying if you have large hands. Lefties should also note that PDA are designed for the right-handed.
Operating system (OS):There are three major operating systems available depending on the brand you get: Palm OS, Windows Mobile by Microsoft and Symbian OS. Windows Mobile is pretty popular mainly because it’s just like using Microsoft Windows.
Connectivity:To get on-line, you need a PDA with built-in Wi Fi or Bluetooth. Some PDA come with a PC Card or Compact Flash slot, where you can connect to the Internet using external cards.